ISLAMABAD: The Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali on Thursday assured the National Assembly that no controversial dam will be constructed without evolving consensus.
During the question hour session of the lower house of the Parliament on Thursday, the minister of state informed that Rs 25 billion have been released for the construction of Diamer-Bhasha Dam.
Abid Sher Ali told the house that the process of land acquisition is about to be completed and the government wants to complete this project from its own resources. However, some donor agencies have also expressed their interest to finance this project.
The minister of state said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will perform groundbreaking of Diamer-Bhasha and Dasu Dams in November this year. He said that the government is giving top priority to the construction of dams to produce cheap electricity.
Moreover, he said that the first phase of Neelum-Jhelum Hydro Power Project will be completed by the end of next year, which will add 253 megawatt of electricity to the national grid.
Similarly, the government plans to construct Munda Dam, Abid sher Ali said that adding that this 800 megawatt project will also help irrigate the barren land. He said that the government has allocated Rs 600 million for this project in the current financial year.
